By Jonathan Wilson Apr 15, 2009, 10:26 GMT
London - As Liverpool readied itself for Wednesday's commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, manager Rafa Benitez was focusing on winning the league title which many would see as the greatest memorial of all.
Thousands were expected to attend an afternoon service at Anfield and the bells of the city's two cathedrals were to be rung in memory of the 96 who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Two minutes silence were to be marked at 3.06 pm, marking the time at which the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was abandoned.
The silence was also to be observed in Nottingham, while the Leppings Lane end of the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield, the terrace on which the fatal crush occurred, will be opened for those wishing to pay their respects.
'Hillsborough affected so many lives, not just on Merseyside but across the whole of the UK,' said the mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rotheram.
For the club, though, the business of football goes on, with Benitez trying to draw encouragement from Tuesday's astonishing 4-4 draw at Chelsea, which saw Liverpool eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals by a 7-5 aggregate.
'Maybe the result is a positive because we saw we can score four goals here and we can do the same in any stadium,' Benitez said.
'We can win a lot of games with this mentality. We showed character, quality and we have to be really proud.
'The players have done a fantastic job and the fans will be very pleased with the team.'
Twice, at 2-0 and 4-3, Liverpool were within a goal of going ahead in the tie, only to be pegged back.
'When you play against a good team like Chelsea, if you make a mistake you pay for them,' Benitez went on.
'We were attacking and controlling but one or two mistakes allowed them to score.
'We are not happy with the result. When you lose you are disappointed but to lose in this way, the players have to be really proud and hold their heads up high.'
Captain Steven Gerrard was unable to play with a groin strain, but Benitez insisted he would return for the rest of the league campaign in which Liverpool trail frontrunners Manchester United by one point.
'He felt something, so he was unavailable,' he said.
'We thought he could be okay but in the end he felt something. It was an easy decision because he could not play. It is not serious and we felt he could be available but he wasn't. Hopefully it will be okay,' said Benitez.
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